Melissa Cruz
Melissa Cruz is the Communications Associate at the American Immigration Council. She oversees media relations and content creation for ImmigrationImpact.com, the Council’s daily online publication. Previously, she worked as a political reporter for RealClearPolitics and Bustle, as well as a writer for the Human Rights Campaign. Melissa received her B.A. in English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Georgia State University.
When people feel welcomed into a community, great things often happen that benefit the receiving community and even the nation. When newcomers feel accepted and included in a society, it provides them the best shot at harnessing talents they may have otherwise been unable to recognize or pursue. This has been the case year after […]
Thousands of migrants—many of whom are mothers, fathers, and children fleeing their homes in violence-stricken areas of Central America—are traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an impromptu caravan. A majority of the estimated 4,000 migrants left last week from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, which has long ranked as one of the most violent […]
When government officials conducted a surprise inspection of the immigration detention center in Adelanto, California this May, they were met by many signs of serious neglect and abuse, including the chilling sight of nooses made from twisted bed sheets hanging in multiple cells. This abuse and neglect are highlighted in a new report by the […]
The Pentagon recently announced that up to 4,000 National Guard troops will remain deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border through September 2019, following a 12-month extension authorized by Defense Secretary James Mattis. But the nature of the military service members’ work at the border—which is mostly menial labor—will still cost millions. The original deployment order, set […]
The average wait time on a U.S. citizenship application was about five months in 2014. Today, the average time a green card holder will wait for their citizenship application to be processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is 10 months. With the increased wait time, the backlog of pending applications has also grown […]
A small town in Nebraska was rocked last week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided multiple businesses, arresting 133 undocumented immigrant workers in an operation which has already created upheaval in the community and its local agriculture industry. This raid is the latest amid a series of enforcement […]
The cost of the Trump administration’s family separation policy continues to skyrocket. In order to finance its self-made crisis, the administration has dipped into funds that were reserved for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) medical research and rural health services. The financial ramifications of separating, detaining, and reuniting migrant children and their […]
Kitchens, restaurants, and housekeeping departments in high-end resorts are often staffed with foreign seasonal workers, who arrive into the United States during peak vacation months. American vacation destinations including resorts—which frequently tout costly club memberships—can employ foreign workers through the H-2B visa program if there are not enough Americans to fill the positions. Many American […]
Criticism continues to mount for the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy and practice of separating and imprisoning migrant families along the U.S.-Mexico border. While the administration clumsily shifts its narrative around the policy, business leaders took action against what Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called an “immoral” and “unfathomable” practice. Khosrowshahi, who is himself a refugee from […]
The outcry against family separation has only just begun. The Trump administration’s cruel policy of separating migrant children from their parents when they cross the U.S.-Mexico border is drawing sharp criticism from many corners. In addition to protests held by everyday Americans, faith leaders, pediatricians, and high-profile figures such as former First Lady Laura Bush […]
